Category Archives: Travel

The Pacific Northwest Part 1

December 1, 2019 Jude Leave a comment

Multnomah Falls
Bend OR
Richland WA
Walla Walla, WA
Mount Saint Helens

In the Spring of 2019 my husband and I took a long planned for trip to the Pacific NW of these fair United States. Unfortunately, at the end of my first trip ever to this region of the country, I didn’t satisfy my travel penchant for the Northwest at all. Now I just want to go back again. (and again and again) If you love hiking like I do, this is truly a hiker’s paradise. But never fear. Even if you are not a hiker, there is so much to do and see, you will never be bored. Do you like mountains, oceans, rivers, forests, plains, or valleys? You get it all here. You also get both the big city and the small town. We had 14 days on this trip, a pretty long vacation by anyone’s standard. But you can pick and choose from this travel itinerary and make it yours (as always) which means you can do 7 days if you like and never leave Portland, or Seattle or the Olympic National Forest. Get ready to be wowed! This is just Part 1 of this 14 day trip. Part 2 which takes off in Seattle, into the Olympic National Forest, to the Pacific Ocean and finally finishes in Cannon Beach, OR is Part 2.

Our day of arrival in the Pacific Northwest was a keeper. We landed at the airport in Portland, rented our car and drove directly to Multnomah Falls, the largest waterfall in Oregon and second largest in the nation. It is just about 30 miles east of Portland along the historical Columbia River. Underground springs from Larch Mountain are the year-round source of water for the waterfall, augmented by spring runoff from the mountain’s snowpack and rainwater during the other seasons. This spring is the source of Multnomah Creek. I hiked to the top. Take water and snacks. It is steep, about 1o to 12 switchbacks all the way up. But the views from the lower landings are impeccable as well. And for the “next time I visit,” I want to stay a few days before leaving the area and just hike all six of these waterfalls along this route along with Multnomah: Latourell, Bridal Veil, Wahkeena, Oneonta Gorge and Lower Oneonta, and Horsetail Falls. Eats: Multnomah Falls Lodge. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had lunch there and it was very good. We also had a view of the falls from our table.

BEND, OR So from Portland to Bend on Hwy 26 through Mount Hood Forest it got to snowing pretty hard through Government Pass. We drove slow and conservatively. Several cars and 1 18 wheeler were in ditches along the way as well as one pretty bad no injury wreck. And this-late in March. As soon as we descended from the pass, it was done. The snow I mean. Gone as quickly as it had appeared. If you are there any sooner than we were (last week of March) make sure you have chains in your cars. We have family who live in Bend and this was our first time to visit this lovely city.

A must do in Bend is to visit and hike around Smith Rock. The “next time I visit,” I am going to dedicate much more time than an afternoon to this place. Pack a cooler of food and drinks and plan to stay a while. And if you have time to squeeze in a little snowshoeing, you can do so at Wanoga Snow Park at Mt. Bachelor.

Well, after dragging ourselves away from Bend, we drove up through rolling hills and plains of Oregon through the Shaniko Oregon Ghost Town all the way back to the Columbia River in Rufus OR where, after lunch, we headed east along the River to our next destination, our friends’ house in Richland WA. What was in store for us: hiking Badger Mountain, touring Hanford Works B Reactor, and touring the quaint city of Walla Walla along with all of its many wineries. This is excellent wine country, and the ambience of this area begs for a return visit.

A word about the Hanford Works. The Manhattan Project was the code name for USA’s making of Atomic bombs during WWII that effectively ended the war in the Pacific theatre. Three isolated locations were chosen. Oakridge TN created the Uranium for the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Richland Washington’s Hanford’s works produced the enriched plutonium for the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Los Alamos NM was the major testing site. We toured what remains of the Hanford site and the B reactor still existing there. Crazy interesting. I read a great book called “The Women of Atomic City” which is about the Oakridge TN plant. If you are ever in the Richland, WA area, the Hanford Works nuclear reservation is a must see. Super cool whether you are a chemist or not. (I’m not, but I am a pretty serious history buff!)

Our next destination: Mount St. Helens, but along the way we enjoyed the views. That is what you do over here. You can’t just drive from A to B without being stunned by nature along the way. We entered US Hwy 12 from Yakima WA and stayed on it through White Pass a mountain pass in the northwest United States, located in the Cascade Range of Washington, southeast of Mount Rainier, until we got to I5 and went south from there to Mount Saint Helens. We were happy that our second Pass to drive through on this trip rendered no blowing snow or snowed over roads!! We admired the Tieton River and the Yakima valley along the Cascade mountain range as we drove.

We arrived at the Mount St. Helens visitor park in the early evening. Seaquest State Park is a public recreation area located on the western flank of Silver Lake in Cowlitz County, Washington. It is home to the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, which offers displays on the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption of 1980. I highly recommend doing the short informative tour through the visitor center before heading out to hike or to see the crater. You get a very comprehensive overview of Mount St. Helens and the famous eruption of 1980 that is forever emblazoned in our memories. We stayed the night and the next day hiked both the Coldwater Lake Trail and Hummock’s Trail. We were in the off season so we could not go to the crater. But the hikes themselves were a constant unveiling of beauty and wonder. Furthermore, Hummok’s trail offers excellent views of the crater. We stayed at the Timberland Inn & Suites in Castle Rock which was only about a 10 minute drive from the visitor center. It was very clean and vey inexpensive.

**Seaquest State Park Mount St. Helens**

*Coldwater Lake Trail* Mount St. Helens easy to moderate hiking.

Kent Washington and the Aviation Museum of Seattle: Next we were privileged yet again to connect with even more friends in Kent. Both our friends there and my husband are pilots and aviation enthusiasts. When you’re married to a pilot, this is part of the package! But I love all things history and aviation so I was super excited to tour the Museum of Flight in Seattle WA. Also in Seattle is Boeing’s manufacture plant for the 737 airplane which is what Paul flies for the company. “The Museum of Flight is the largest independent, non-profit air and space museum in the world! With over 175 aircraft and spacecraft, tens of thousands of artifacts, millions of rare photographs, dozens of exhibits and experiences and a world-class library, the Museum and its people bring mankind’s incredible history of flight to life.” (Ref: Museum of Flight main website.)

**Where the new Boeing 737s come off the line.**

**Eats: Pizzeria Pulcinella has the feel of an upscale, yet friendly, neighborhood pizzeria in the Rainer Beach area of Seattle.**

Next up Seattle and the Olympic National Forest. See you there in the Pacific Northwest Part 2….

Travel

Two Days in Heidelberg Germany

December 1, 2019 Jude 2 Comments

Heidelberg Germany is a University town. So it has a lot of energy for sure typical of college towns in the US. And just as is true of any major (or minor) European city, there are so many wonderful and fun things to do here. But if you only have a couple of days such as I did on my last trip here, do THIS! Hike up the Heiligenberg to Thingstätte, via Philosophy Way (Philosphenweg). Then hike down the other side to the Old Bridge (Alte Brücke) of Heidelberg. On the second day, you can finish out your exploration of Old Town which you started the evening of your arrival, as well as visit the famous Heidelberg Schloss in all of its glory. Note: Pack water and snacks on this hike. A light backpack is more than enough but don’t go without water.

Day 1 The Heiligenberg is a large wooded hill overlooking the town of Heidelberg. My friend Rebecca and I were en route to Thingstätte, an open-air theatre (amphitheater) nearing the top of the Heiligenberg and beyond that, the Monastery of St. Michael; (Michaelskloster). But along the way we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the forest and all the extra finds.

Disclaimer: If you have mobility issues, then hiking Heiligenberg may not be an option for you. But don’t worry. You can drive up. There is ample parking available at the forest restaurant and Guest House Waldschenke just near Thingstätte. Address: Auf dem Heiligenberg 1, 69121 Heidelberg, Germany

We set out by taking beautiful Philosopher’s Way trail (Philosophenweg) along the way to our destination. The name “Philosophers’ Way” can be traced to the fact that Heidelberg’s university professors and philosophers found this path a congenial place where they could talk seriously and contemplate while enjoying the charming view of the Neckar River.

Accessing Philosophenweg: Our hotel was located Southwest of Old Town, so we walked north crossing the river on Theodor Heuss Bridge; Not long after crossing the bridge we turned right on Brückenkopfstraße, then left onto Bergstraße and then right onto Philosophenweg.

Our first stop along the way was Bismarckturm. The Bismarck Tower was built in 1903 as a monument to Otto von Bismarck. It is one of the Bismarck towers constructed after Wilhelm Kreis’ design, intended to have a flame lit at the top. It is on the south slope of the Heiligenberg overlooking the Philosophers’ Way. There is believed to be about 240 of them in existence.

Back on the trail of Philosphenweg…headed to Thingstätte.

Thingstätte, is an open-air theatre which was built during the Third Reich for performances and events as part of the Thingspiel movement. Apparently Hitler even used many of the ancient stones from the Monastery of St. Michael to build Thingstätte. On the other hand, both places are quite beautiful, calming, and serene-whether that was the original intent of the amphitheater or not. Time and seasons change. Physical places have a way of absorbing all of the elements of those seasons so gracefully and beautifully-often in spite of mankind. Thank goodness.

The Monastery of St. Michael German: Michaelskloster, on the Heiligenberg was a branch of the nearby Lorsch Abbey. The ruined complex that can be seen today was built beginning in 1023. The monastery was occupied successively by several religious orders before it was abandoned in the 16th century.

Stop in and have lunch or a coffee at the ***Waldschenke*** before heading back down to Old Town. We packed our lunch which is also a great idea on a nice day.

Back on the trail to Old Town, from Thingstätte, we took the path away from Waldschenke restaursnt, the opposite side from where we had first arrived, which connected us to Schlangenweg (Snake Path) on our way to the Alte Bridge. DON’T WORRY. There were no snakes. Just a breathtaking off the chart beautiful piece of nature! The Old Bridge: The Karl Theodor Bridge (German: Karl-Theodor-Brücke), commonly known as the Old Bridge (Alte Brücke), is an arch bridge in Heidelberg that crosses the Neckar river. It connects the Old City with the eastern part of the Neuenheim district of the city on the opposite bank. The current bridge, made of Neckar sandstone and the ninth built on the site, was constructed in 1788 by Elector Charles Theodore, and is one of the best-known landmarks and tourist destinations in Heidelberg.But since the 13th century there have been 8 bridges, updated, renovated and sometimes nearly replaced.

DAY 2 And just like that, we are down the hill and back in town after our adventure to Thingstätte and St. Michael’s Chapel. Continuing on to Old Town and the Heidelberg Schloss. Heidelberg Schloss (Castle) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. If you need it, you can take a funicular up to the Schloss. The lower railway, one of Germany’s most modern funicular railways, starts at Kornmarkt in the old town and runs via the Castle (Schloss) station as far as Molkenkur. From there you can continue with one of the oldest electric funicular railways to the Königstuhl, the town’s highest point at more than 550 metres. But if you can make the walk, the meandering beauty of your route to the top is not too taxing and you’ll be ever so glad you did.

The Hauptstraße is the main road through the Old Town (Altstadt,) and is where most of the shopping is centered. A worthy shopping note here. Shopping rarely makes the top of my to do list when I am in Europe. But Heidelberg is a great shopping town. Lots of unique stores and wonderful window dressings. Book shops galore. Other points of interest that can be found in the Altstadt include the Marktplatz, the Kornmarkt, the Church of the Holy Ghost, the Palatinate Museum, Synagogue Square, The University, Marstall, Heuscheuer, the Friedrich Memorial, and of course the Old Bridge.

Please take special note of the picture below of the gold plates in the ground. These represent Jewish families who lived here in this place (house or apartment) leading up to WWII and were either subsequently deported by the Nazis or they fled of their own accord (forced) Notice the children’s names who were part of a transport of Jewish children to England. Yet their parents went to Auschwitz and died there. Apparently they sent their kids to relative safety ahead of their own deportations.